Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Pension Credit applications.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) published on 22^nd July 2024 DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the financial year 2024 to 2025 and is due for publication in the summer.

The Department is working hard to meet its published timeliness standard of processing claims and reduce Pension Credit processing times, DWP deployed over 500 additional people. As a result, the Department is clearing more cases. The latest Pension Credit published statistics show DWP cleared 211,600 Pension Credit claims from 29 July 2024 to 9 February 2025, representing an 87% increase in clearance compared to 112,900 cleared Pension Credit claims for the comparable 2023/24 period (31 July 2023 to 11 February 2024). Subsequently, our latest published statistics up to February 2025 show outstanding volumes have reduced Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK. Escalation arrangements are also in place for cases where individuals are identified as being vulnerable or in immediate hardship.